50 Alchemical Uses for Dragons

[1] Juiced Dragon liver- increases the longevity of a potion's shelf life.

[2] Squeezed Dragon eyeball. Juices can be used to polish beakers which improve clarity, also improves potion color and taste.

[3] Webbing between the Dragon's toes. Can be boiled, pulled, and mixed with a potion to create potion gum. Potion activates over time as chewed.

[4] Few shavings of Dragon horn- when added to any potion grants an attack bonus.

[5] Dragon teeth. When melted into a stirred elixir creates a totally flame proof potion. Lasts one hour per tooth.

[6] Dragon mane. Hairs can be burnt into red hot ash, then cooled into dust. Dust can be mixed into a lotion that restores youthful appearance, or can be spread on a baby's cheeks to grow a beard. Expensive, but a favorite prank.

[7] Dragon egg yolk. Gives any potion a jelly-like consistency. Mixed with a fire or acid potion to create a terrifying throwing bomb.

[8] Dragon lymph nodes. String-bean sized, added to a salt concoction and allowed to soak for three years. Turns regular chameleon or transparency potions into true invisibility.

[9] Minced Dragon gums. When added to a potion the drinker has an increased susceptibility to hypnotic suggestions.

[10] Dragon shoulderblades. Carved into a mortar and bowl; increases purity of ingredients both when processed as well as drunk.

[11] Dragon claw tips, snipped off and swallowed with any personality or charisma boosting potion. Allows for easy deescalation of tense negotiations, or grants mental clarity for legal debate.

[12] Dragon medulla oblongata. Must be boiled, shrunk down to a much smaller size, and dipped in a special lacquer every night for a full year. Creates a necklace that grants the user incredible longevity and improved physical health when combined with dragon youth potions.

[13] Dragon testicles. In a potion; the drinker gets 1d10 years younger. Very valuable.

[14] Dragon tail rind. If stewed in a cauldron grants a saving throw against any wasting disease to those who smell its fumes.

[15] Dragon tail tip. If not sharpened into a weapon can instead be broken into shards and added to potions to grant a strong boost to agility and reflex time.

[16] Fertalized Dragon egg. Embryo inside is taken out and put into a jar and pickled in a brine solution. Froth that bubbles from the embryo can be rubbed on a pregnant woman's stomach to cure her developing child of defects. Every year the embryo produces enough froth on the top of the bottle to make one dose.

[17] Dragon muscles. Pounded to a pulp and made into a potion that grants incredible strength. Makes muscles bright red and wretch under the skin, its also mildly addictive.

[18] Dragon's nose septum. Added to a potion which grants the drinker a few inches of height permanently.

[19] Dragon scales elixir. The scales have to be melted with acid first. Grant incredibly hard skin and a resiliency to all mundane blades, but hands compulsively grip gold and precious gems.

[20] Dragon gallbladder stones. Added to medicines to destroy invisible imps.

[21] Dragon leg muscles. The grease from this can be used in slipper lubricants.

[22] Pickled Dragon toes. Used in potions that restore stats and attributes.

[23] Dragon heart. Grants the drinker incredible fire resistance, but each dose lowers Wisdom.

[24] Dragon nerves. Bundled into a potion and sifted to create an ever-counting potion. You can count as high as you want and remember all numbers without losing focus for a whole day.

[25] Dragon pancreas. If pulped and turned into a chunky mixture, makes for an unpleasant cure-all for disease and poison.

[26] Dragon intestines. If a potion mixture is passed through a cured passage of intestines, it loses its taste, thus allowing for potions and elixirs to be stealthily put into food and drink.

[27] Dragon eye; polished and sanded. Made into glass-like sphere that can hold a potion and only activates with a special key-word set by a Sorcerer at the time of the potion's creation.

[28] Dragon pre-frontal cortex. Must be simmered over a hot flame for two or more years. Draws out one third level or lower spell from what the dragon knew, if the dragon had spells.

[29] Dragon gizzard stones. If sanded down to a smaller size and swallowed; grants the user the ability to eat almost anything without problem. Very difficult to pass.

[30] Dragon egg shells, cracked into small pieces and made into a broth along with herbs and flowers. Greatly improves the taste of any meal.

[31] Dragon's voicebox. If folded inside out and a potion is allowed to soak within can substitute some moderately rare potion reagents. Only works for a few weeks before rotting away.

[32] Dragon flame sac & juices. Extremely reactive and dangerous to handle. Primary ingredient and only known source of gunpowder, dragon napalm, and ever-burning lanterns.

[33] Dragon bladder. Make into potion that allows the drinker to go without water for two weeks.

[34] Dragon blood. Can make extremely simple healing potions with them.

[35] Dragon bones. When used stirring potions and crumbled into them increases potency and shelf life of potions made with them.

[36] Dragon appendix. Must be used in combination with basic weeds and leaves to turn them into actually useful potion ingredients.

[37] Dragon wing membrane. Stretched and used as a lid for potions and lotions gives them nearly infinite shelf life. If grilled and added to a potion, causes levitation effect on concentration.

[38] Dragon lips. If mixed with lard can be made into a type of lipstick that inflicts Charm effect on anyone the wearer kisses.

[39] Dragon spines. Must be crushed by a very hard and heavy stone to be put down into size. Powder can be applied dry to an arrow to let it penetrate any armor weaker then lesser mithril.

[40] Dragon fetal scales. Formless gray circles that dissolve once the dragon is properly born, so can only be taken from a fertilized dragon egg. Potions made from this can be used to regenerate limbs, but causes mutations in the newly grown parts.

[41] Dragon lungs. Shredded and turned into a potion allows for underwater breathing.

[42] Dragon fire itself, captured in a lantern or candle. Very hot, pure burning flame that quickly melts or boils things for use in making potions.

[43] Dragon stomach acid. Important caustic agent used for polishing magic gems, as well as breaking down other tough alchemy agents like stones.

[44] Phlegm from a sick dragon. Used for several strong remedies to diseases; handling it has a 1 in 6 chance risk of catching dragon flu.

[45] Dragon dung. Useful fertilizer. One of the types of compost pure enough to grow invisibility mushrooms.

[46] Dragon joints. If made into a gel and applied to a person's feet grants bonus to stealth, if applied to hands grants bonus to lockpicking checks.

[47] Dragon horn. Mixed in with any potion that influences emotion or libido greatly boosts the effect.

[48] Dragon tongue. Pickled and fermented into a juice that grants the user incredible charisma for one hour. Byproducts of this potion can be used to make a rare and expensive wine.

[49] Dragon quills can dipped in ink and potion ingredients to create “rune” potions; activate when read on the person who read them.

[50] Dragon thyroid. If dried and used in combination with other processes can be used as a component of the philosopher's stone.

Dirt Simple Alchemy

Heavily inspired by the newest Zelda; Breath of the Wild, this potion system is meant to simplify some of the thoughts I had on how I wanted to do alchemy. I can't take all the credit for this, as some of the ideas were brainstormed by anonymous contributors.

Dirt Simple Potions

In order to create a potion, it requires an open flame, water, a flask or vial, and a cauldron. Ingredients must be mixed together. Each ingredient has an effect; Each type of ingredient grants a 1d6 roll to determine the potion's strengths for that effect. Each additional ingredient of the same type grants just +1 to the roll for that effect.

For example; If you make a potion with 3 healing shrooms, a healing butterfly wing, and an attack boosting chili pepper; you would roll 2d6+2 for Healing and 1d6 to calculate your attack bonus. This effect roll is how powerful the potion is when drunk or applied to a weapon in the case for poison.

When mixed; the ingredients in the potion disappear into a colorful, often glowing liquid that is clearly supernatural. Potions only have one day of 'shelf-life' before they lose their magic and turn back into a useless ingredient slurry. Potions with ongoing effects grant the drinker their power for one exploration turn, which is not related to their shelf life.

Whenever foraging or shopping for potion ingredients, roll on each list to see what you find. You don't know what they do if you find them in the wild unless you're a Sage of appropriate level or unless you have a book that can tell you- otherwise you'll have to experiment. Inferior ingredients only grant 1d4 for rolling their effects, Rare reagents like from high HD monsters can have 1d8 or higher for their potion effects.

Ingredients- Roll 1d6

[1] Herb or Fruit

[2] Animal Flesh or Bone

[3] Mushroom or Mold

[4] Insect or Arachnid

[5] Monster Part or Egg

[6] Powder or Salt

Effect- Roll 1d10

[1] Attack- For every 5 points of X; grants +1 to hit

[2] Protection- For every 5 points of X; grants +1 AC

[3] Elemental Resistance- Absorbs X of an Elemental Damage. The Elemental this ingredient resists is tied to its location and the creature; ie Fire Drake teeth grant Fire resistance, Moss from a swamp grants acid resistance, etc. Or determine randomly- (1d4- Fire, Cold, Lightning, Acid)

[4] Sensing- You gain the ability to see in the dark to a number of feet equal to X times 5. You also gain the ability the 'hear' loud sounds through walls, floor, or ceiling such as the sound of miners striking at rock or rushing water. Range of this ability is roughly equal to X feet.

[5] Mana- You can recover a spent spell slot in spell level equal to X or less. If you're using another system, count this as restoring +X mana points or adding +X to the next spellcrafting check.

[6] Healing- Restore X Health. If fed to a dying character with -X or more health, save to be revived

[7] Cure- Fights against the disease as though you had X days of bed rest. Incurable diseases are instead delayed by X days. Restores X points of attribute damage.

[8] Antidote- Reduce X Poison Damage from what you are suffering. Not a resistance; must be drank after you are poisoned. On save vs death poison, add +½ of X to your saving throw.

[9] Poison- Adds +X Poison Damage on first strike if applied to a sharp weapon or arrow. Target gets a save to resist the poison. Poison damage is rolled after the hit is confirmed.

[10] Stability- Adds +X number of days this potion will keep before spoiling.

Potion Errata

Due to how strong some of these effects can be, especially with multiple potion ingredients of the same type, that is the reason for the potions short shelf-life. Stability-effect ingredients can be added to make them better and last longer of course.

Ingredients of the same effect and type have lesser effects then adding in multiple ingredients of the same effect but different type. However it doesn't make much sense for a bear's molar that can cure disease and camel fat halfway across the world that can also cure disease to be considered the “same” ingredient. You can choose to have each biome have its own set of ingredients that are counted as different ingredients in different biomes.

If you're the type to have weird, mutational, or potential dangerous potions with side effects then consider having a random saving throw whenever a tonic is ingested and have the player roll on the effects table if they fail the save. Whatever effect they roll is instead reversed for them; so if they roll Attack they fumble all of their attacks horribly, or they suddenly become very flammable and they'll take X bonus fire damage if so much as a torch brushes up against them.

Of course, these rules don't have to ever be the extent of your potions or tonic making adventures. Let players soak an ent's bark in a tonic and ingest it to gain barkskin for their protection tonics, or make it so any potion mixed with a dragon's heart becomes permanent, or can be poured out into a strange alchemical homunculus. But you were already thinking of doing that, weren't you?